Svenska Spel To Sponsor Swedish E-Sports

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Jun 1, 2018

Swedish gambling giant agrees to three-year sponsorship with the Swedish eSports Federation

Svenska Spel has entered a three-year principal sponsorship deal with the Swedish eSports Federation, providing the eSports body with the resources for future eSports development in the country.

Earlier, Svenska Spel announced plans to reapply to operate markets in Swedish eSports betting, which are expected to open in January 2019.

Magnus Jonsson, chairperson of the SESF, said in a statement: “The fact that Svenska Spel has chosen to become the SESF’s main sponsor, as they are for many other Swedish national associations, shows that eSports is being normalised as a sport like any other. We are looking forward to building Sweden’s largest public sporting movement together with Svenska Spel.”

Joakim Mörnefält, communications director at Svenska Spel, added: “We see great potential in eSports and in future we would like to offer odds on eSports. The agreement with the SESF provides us with unique activation opportunities and chances to communicate with and offer relevant offers to a new target group. If we are also able to contribute to increased interest in and the status of the eSports national team, that is a positive.”

Svenska Spel is already the main sponsor for the Swedish national associations for football, ice hockey, floorball, and handball.

Andreas Samuelsson, team director, Fnatic CSGO, said that the Svenska Spel sponsorship of the Federation will take Swedish eSports to the next level. “This collaboration is a giant step for the Swedish eSports scene,” he said.

The Swedish eSports Federation is a member of the International eSports Federation and joined the board of the organisation in 2015, and the Players’ Council in 2016. The SESF has played an active role in organising the annual World Championships, which will be held in Taiwan in November this year.

---